Eulalio Gonzalez Ramirez

Actor-singer-songwriter

Eulalio Gonzalez Ramirez, who captured his countrymen's hearts with his comic interpretation of the stereotypical Mexican rancher, died suddenly of heart failure Sept. 1 at his home in a suburb of Monterrey, Mexico. The actor-singer-songwriter was 82.

Gonzalez is credited with nearly 60 film and television roles over five decades, the vast majority of them as "Piporro," a singing, dancing and homey-refrain-spouting dynamo who was northern Mexico's answer to Mexico City's comic figures Tin Tan, Resortes and Cantinflas.

Known for his throaty cry of "ajua!" Gonzalez worked with most of the stars of Mexico's golden age of cinema, including Pedro Infante, Maria Felix, Vicente Fernandez and Luis Aguilar. He composed the music for 10 of his films and once tried his hand at directing.

Son of a customs officer, Gonzalez was born in Los Herreras, 100 miles south of the Rio Grande. He graduated with a degree in accounting but instead went to work as a newspaper reporter before turning to radio in the early 1940s. After a short stint with a Monterrey station, he moved to Mexico City to host radio shows including "Voz de America Latina" (Voice of Latin America), where he met Infante and landed a role alongside him in the series "Ahi viene Martin Corona" (Here Comes Martin Corona), where his Piporro character was born.

Radio show was hugely successful, and in 1952 "Martin Corona" was made into a film. Gonzalez made six more pics with Infante over the next four years and logged 31 film credits before 1960, establishing a brash and cheerful rustic counterpart to the streetwise hobo comics of the era. Hits included "El rey del tomate" (The Tomato King) and "Torero por un dia" (Bullfighter for a Day).

"The great improviser of tradition," Mexican historian Carlos Mosivais wrote of the Piporro character, "gave Mexico another identity and destiny."

Gonzalez retired from showbiz for a decade following the 1985 death of his wife, Tina Balli, but made his return in the 1994 telenovela "Agujetas de color de rosas" (Pink Shoelaces). In 1999, his refrain-filled book "Autobiogr...ajua/Anecdotas del Taconaso/Piporro's Self Biography" was published.

Actor continued to make public appearances until his death, including a trip to Mexico City the weekend of his death to emcee an homage to classic Mexican film score composers. Upon his return to Monterrey that Sunday night, , he reported fatigue and went to bed. His body was discovered in the morning.

Gonzalez is survived by five children, 13 grandchildren, two brothers and two sisters.